OAT Onset All Together

A Freedom of Information Act request was required to obtain these public minutes. I believe this in itself is wrong.  Onset Water does not publish agendas not minutes online on their website . View the minutes here. Some highlights: Per the minutes, Chairman Hughes attended 11 meetings in 2018, Commissioner Kowzic attended 12, Commissioner Fontes attended 9. According to the minutes, often decisions were made without motion nor voting. Someone filed a complaint with the state regarding the minutes not being up to "standards." This does not appear to have resolved the problem. Personnel matters were discussed in open session, regarding hiring and performance. A vote as taken to acquire a credit card for the water department but not for what purpose nor for whom. A bid was awarded with discussion of other bids. A $250,000 "buffer" was built into the warrant (Nov. 16, 2018) There was a "gentleman's agreement" regarding police details...

It's that time of year when we try to understand what Onset Fire and Water Districts are spending. One elected official receiving family medical, dental and "Boston Mutual" costs the rate payers, us, $ 27,792.00. Let that sink in for a minute. This year, 4 Prudential Committee members and Water Commissioners received Blue Cross. 5 received Dental. And 4 received something called Boston Mutual, which is 25% of all those who received this benefit. However, this District will not reveal how much we spent on these elected officials.  Retirees include both actual employees and past elected officials. As has been the case in the past two years, they spent a great deal of money trying not to answer questions. Here's there response to a FOIA request http://bit.ly/2E75fJt . There's a link to their data on the website http://bit.ly/2E6T9QM The District further claims not to know how much they are paying for each job title, even though they...

Please take our survey, and email us at onsetalltogether at gmail dot com to volunteer or submit questions. Please Participate in our Survey Thank you!

Join neighbors at the Spinney Library on February 1, 2019, from 4:45-5:45 to set the agenda for 2019.

The Plaintiffs in the case against the Buzzards Bay Coalition, the Town of Wareham and David Warr, filed in Plymouth County Superior Court in October, have withdrawn the complaint.  After extensive discussions between the parties' counsels, the town retains their prior rights to the area including Onset Beach, the bluffs and Bay View Park.  A new document filed with the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds creates two new zones for establishing responsibilities and rights including a prohibition on construction of any additional structures. The leased area is now the existing bath house concrete pad, with the Coalition responsible for construction and upkeep of the new facility, landscaping and hardscaping. The suit encompassed larger issues, such as the granting of Community Preservation Act Funds and the process used at town meeting to lease out the properties, included in the Supreme Judicial Court decision of 1916. This decision expressly prohibits the sale or leas...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ONSET, MA October 28, 2018 Contact: Philip Schreffler, Esq. Eno, Martin, Donahue LLP, Lowell, MA 978-452-8902 dmartin@enomartin.com general mailbox TAXPAYERS SUE TO PROTECT PARKLAND AND THEIR RIGHTS Taxpayers in the Town of Wareham have filed a lawsuit in Plymouth County Superior Court to protect parkland in Onset decreed forever open and accessible to the public in a 1916 court decision and to stop the demolition of the coastal bluffs. The taxpayers seek an injunction as the Buzzards Bay Corporation imminent demolition of the building and the coastal bluffs. The lawsuit is over the town’s 99-year lease with the Buzzards Bay Coalition. The suit was filed against the town, the Coalition and David Warr, a Wareham resident who claimed an inherited right to assent to the lease. The plaintiffs support the proposed Onset Bay Center, to be located at the site of the current bathhouse sitting on Onset Beach. For the past few years, th...

 Dear Ms Healey,      It is quite clear that you have ignored all of the fine details of our complaints proving that what the Town of Wareham and the Buzzard's Bay Coalition did was illegal.  You appear to be concentrating on a bath house when the main complaint concerns the leasing of a portion of land dedicated to the public via the Massachusetts Supreme Court.      By allowing the Buzzard's Bay Coalition to lease any part of our dedicated land you are allowing the eventual takeover of our parks, bluffs and seashore. You are setting a precedent which will allow the private use of all of the dedicated land in the state.  The law clearly states that this cannot be done.  Dedicated land cannot be given way in bits and pieces. We do not pretend to be lawyers but the law regarding dedicated land is clearly spelled out in Dunphy vs the Commonwealth et al , which you are ignoring.  ...